About this collection

Background

In 1857, the San Francisco Board of Education established an evening school for teachers. The school became known as the Minns's Evening Normal School, after the principal, Washington Minns. In 1862, the California State Legislature formally established Minns's school as the first California State Normal School. The school remained in San Francisco until the California State Legislature voted to move it to San Jose and provided the funds to construct a new building on Washington Square in San Jose. The State Normal School moved into the new building prior to the fall term in 1872.

In 1887, the California State Normal School was renamed the San Jose State Normal School. In 1921, the various State Normal Schools were renamed State Teachers Colleges, reflecting the increased needs and curriculum requirements for the education of teachers. The college began offering education-related bachelor's degrees at this time, and the first degrees were conferred in 1923. In 1935 the California State Legislature renamed the San Jose State Teachers College to San Jose State College. In 1972 the school was renamed California State University, San Jose. Because the change met broad opposition from students, alumni, and faculty, the school became San Jose State University in 1974.

The Digital Collection

The King Library Digital Collection includes a representative selection of images depicting the people and places of San Jose State University. For additional information about using images in this collection, contact the SJSU Special Collections Department.

The Physical Collection

The complete archive consists of a variety of visual materials depicting the buildings, people, and events of San Jose State University, and its previous incarnations: San Jose State College, San Jose State Teachers College, and the California State Normal School in San Jose and San Francisco. Some of the reproductions originated from school newspapers or catalogs. There are also a few drawings. The majority of the collection documents the history of the university, but also covers events or places in San Jose or Santa Clara County.

For a description of the contents of the physical collection, see the online Finding Aid.

For more information about the scope of the physical collection see the online collection guide.